# Smelling Nostalgic: Candles That Smell Like Disney Theme Park Attractions (SDTM, 2023)

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2023-06-13  
**Duration:** 12m 28s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxE-h9ERFT4

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## Analysis

Zach Sharp from Straight Down the Middle reviews Disney-themed candles from the Magic Candle Company designed to evoke nostalgic scents from Disney theme park attractions and rides. He purchases and smells five products (Bakery on Main Street, Pirate Life, Splash, Haunted, and Extraterrestrial Forest) while discussing how smell triggers memory and nostalgia, ultimately expressing satisfaction with the products as a way to enhance his game room's sensory appeal.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Disney parks pump artificial scents throughout the park, particularly bakery, popcorn, and sweet smells on Main Street — _Zach describes Disney World's Main Street olfactory engineering as intentional and iconic_
- [HIGH] Smell is one of the strongest memory triggers, stronger than other senses in forming nostalgic associations — _Zach references his background in healthcare/psychology and explains neurological basis for smell-memory connection_
- [MEDIUM] Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney World uses bromine (not chlorine) in its water — _Zach states this as fact when reviewing the Pirate Life candle, though presented conversationally rather than authoritatively_
- [HIGH] E.T. the Extraterrestrial is one of Universal Studios' oldest rides and still operating — _Direct statement about Universal Studios attraction longevity_
- [MEDIUM] The Magic Candle Company successfully recreates recognizable theme park scents with product line including candles, sprays, and odorettes — _Zach's subjective experience smelling products; product effectiveness is opinion-based_

### Notable Quotes

> "if you're like me my Oasis is the game room it's my getaway it's the one place that I get to decide what it looks like what it sounds like and now what it smells like"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~0:45
> _Sets up the core premise of the video: intentional sensory design in personal gaming spaces_

> "smell can't put your finger on it you literally can't because it's a smell but you know it when it's there"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~3:00
> _Encapsulates the ineffable nature of olfactory memory that drives nostalgia marketing_

> "I went online and ran across this company called the Magic Candle Company this company has become famous because they've been able to recreate some of the nostalgic smells from my favorite theme park areas rides hotels attractions"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~5:15
> _Direct product endorsement and company introduction_

> "oh damn I smell popcorn that's nuts sweet confection of buttery or smooth-feeling shots in gameplay frosting yellow cake that will have your endorphins kicking in your mouth watering oh damn that smells good that's a winner"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~13:30
> _Positive reaction to first candle; validates the nostalgic scent recreation concept_

> "but when I smell this I know this is nerdy but I love this stuff but when I visualize in my mind but thinking of that moment and then smelling at the same time that's cool that's this is this is really neat this is really cool"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~21:45
> _Core emotional payoff: demonstrates multi-sensory nostalgia trigger working as intended_

> "we deserve our own smells in our own happy places whether it be your game room or whatever it may be"
> — **Zach Sharp**, ~28:15
> _Closing philosophy aligning with video's broader message about intentional environmental design_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharp | person | Host of Straight Down the Middle podcast/YouTube channel; founder of Flippin' Out Pinball; also associated with The Pinball Show; background in healthcare/psychology |
| Straight Down the Middle | media | Pinball-focused YouTube show and podcast hosted by Zach Sharp; established content creator in pinball community |
| Magic Candle Company | company | Candle/fragrance company specializing in Disney theme park-inspired scents; products include candles, sprays, and odorettes; offers Dave Link affiliate partnership with SDTM |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | company | Pinball arcade venue/retailer operated by Zach Sharp; sells new and used pinball machines |
| The Pinball Show | media | Pinball podcast/media outlet associated with Zach Sharp |
| Disney World | event/organization | Theme park in Orlando, Florida; referenced for iconic scents on Main Street and attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Haunted Mansion |
| Universal Studios | organization | Theme park featuring E.T. the Extraterrestrial ride, which inspired one of the reviewed candles |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Nostalgia marketing and sensory design in gaming spaces, Disney theme park experience and olfactory engineering, Product review of Magic Candle Company offerings
- **Secondary:** Smell as memory trigger and psychological phenomenon, Game room/arcade design and personal space curation

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Zach expresses genuine enthusiasm for the products and concept throughout. Self-aware humor about the unusual nature of the content ('I'm going to get so much from my buddies for doing this video but I ain't even mad') maintains authenticity while overall sentiment remains highly favorable toward Magic Candle Company products and the broader sensory nostalgia concept.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** SDTM expanding content beyond core pinball focus to adjacent nostalgia/hobby verticals; testing audience acceptance of non-pinball themed lifestyle content (confidence: medium) — Zach explicitly acknowledges this is 'something odd strange something we often do not do on this channel' and preemptively addresses potential criticism from community
- **[market_signal]** SDTM establishing affiliate/partnership with Magic Candle Company through Dave Link; monetizing nostalgia-adjacent content stream (confidence: high) — Multiple references to Dave Link in video description and direct calls-to-action: 'click on that Dave Link whenever you decide that you're wanting to order from the Magic Candle Company do me a favor click on that Dave Link to do so I know you're going to want to I was curious as well but do so so that this company shows me some love'

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## Transcript

[Music] foreign [Music] what's your game room smell like what's your theater smell like what's your favorite hangout at your home what does that smell like your man cave your she shed your garage your home arcade Under the Stairs where your spouse gives you the whole Harry Potter treatment if you're like me my Oasis is the game room it's my getaway it's the one place that I get to decide what it looks like what it sounds like and now what it smells like welcome back to straight down the middle I am Zach with sdtm as well as flipping out pinball and the pinball show today we're going to do something odd strange something we often do not do on this channel yeah that's right today I get to show off some candles oh stop don't give me a hard time there's a reason I'm doing this recently I've been buttoning up my game room deciding what all is going in here what's going to be on the walls an old LP to listen to vinyls a whiskey bar over there and it got me thinking about all the senses and for many of you one overlooked very important sense is that of smell I typically don't think about like what my room smells like as long as it's clean I don't care what it smells like but for you the straight down the middle viewer you guys love nostalgic things you love gaming you love you love old pinball machines comic books music you like movies you're likely watching this video because you have Nostalgia for these things as well and if you've been watching this channel you know that I am a huge fan of classic sick Disney not only the films not only the animation but maybe more than anything I have some of the deepest Nostalgia for Disney theme parks Disney World in Orlando Florida is like one of my favorite places ever I don't want to bore you with any stories but hell as a kid I loved going there as an adult I love taking my kids and my family there and you all know that Disney theme parks are so interesting in the way that they're engineered one of the coolest things about these Disney theme parks is that they pump in smells artificial smells throughout the park if you've heard of this you're likely thinking of Disney World or Disneyland Main Street as you walk into a Disney park you first stroll right through Main Street walking down that street you will not only be sucked in by all the sights and sounds but the smells they pump in Bakery smells sweets popcorn it is so iconic that every single time I go this feeling just rushes over me as this big snozz here takes in the smell of Main Street I'm taking back to my childhood and some of the my favorite memories in life and it's because of smells in my previous life I was in healthcare psychology to be specific and I know you know that some of the strongest memories are formed from smell smell can't put your finger on it you literally can't because it's a smell but you know it when it's there so what does this all matter oh here's the deal I could throw in some smells into my game room that that smell nice right or masculine I couldn't do all of that but that's not cool like the visual Nostalgia of pinball behind me in my game room or playing old records that take me back I wanted to tap into another sense to maximize nostalgia in the place that I'll just call uh my Nostalgia hole oh God no I'm not going to call it that I'm just going to call it my game room Nostalgia hole and what better way than buy some candles I went online and ran across this company called the magic Candle Company this company has become famous because they've been able to recreate some of the nostalgic smells from my favorite theme park areas rides hotels attractions look I I get it it's weird but does it not sound damn cool the magic Candle Company check it out I've ordered some of their candles for this room and I've not smelled them yet I want you to see my reaction as I smell these candles they make like sprays they make candles they make they make odorette they make all kinds of stuff if you want Nostalgia to fill up your room they've got a way to do it that I went with the candles I'm going to straight up tell you as I open these things up if there is any resemblance to that nostalgic smell that I so dearly love when I visit these Parks I don't know if it's going to trigger that Nostalgia for me that's why it's exciting all right here we go this is our ticket to smell the magic well that's what it says ticket to smell the magic bringing the vacation to you oh I almost forgot in the description of this video there's going to be a link please click on that link whenever you decide that you're wanting to order from the magic Candle Company do me a favor click on that link to do so I know you're going to want to I was curious as well but do so so that this company shows me some love for showing off their product this could go horribly wrong though because if this stinks I'm going to tell you too they have many different smells many different products but I chose five that I hope a minimum smell good in here I went with five different smells like the first one the Bakery on Main Street okay but the rest of them are going to be to many of you possibly odd or super exciting I don't know about you but every single time that I ride Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney world but every time I go down into the caverns to get on that ride it's the same smell every time and I love it the magic Candle Company attempts to recreate the smell in what they call Pirate life I'm not joking sticking with that old musty water spill that I'm so looking forward to this next one they call Splash Splash is supposed to resemble the smell of the iconic and legendary ride Splash Mountain and arguably my favorite ride and experience in all of Disney World is that that's a little strange a little odd a little scary at times it's the Haunted Mansion going down into that old dank basement area of this ride there's no way it's clean down there but for some reason I don't know if it's the smell that they're pumping into it or if it's even smell it all it could be all natural organic it smells so good let's see if the magic Candle Company can replicate that smell in what they call haunted and last but certainly not least is not a Disney property it's actually in Universal Studios there's one really really it's probably their oldest ride at Universal Studios but one that I hope that they never get rid of because there's a certain feeling when I ride this ride it's simple it's a dark ride it's really hokey it's ET the Extraterrestrial right you're flying on that bicycle with E.T in your basket through the woods at night time they're calling this one extraterrestrial Forest I can't wait to take a sniff let's start with Bakery on Main Street a wick wooden Wick candle too oh oh wow so it smells like a bakery right so this one I wouldn't expect it to be tuna stuff but it's sweets but then there's like this little salty smell in there too oh damn I smell popcorn that's nuts sweet confection of butter frosting yellow cake that will have your endorphins kicking in your mouth watering oh damn that smells good that's a winner [Music] is ridiculous but oh my gosh next up ER is pirate life I've heard this they don't put chlorine in the waters of this ride they put bromine bromine bromine or something let's see if they captured that smell I might have to burn this one to see if what it smells like burning oh wow it smells like a faint industrial smell but clean oh that's weird it reads pirate life features Pleasant notes of oceanic air fresh rain and salty sea breezes it smells like a it does make me think of like right whenever you take that corn and John Youssi the big ship in that big room that's cool it definitely oddly smells good but I can't put my finger on it I would expect Splash to smell the same way this one reads that it captures the excitement of a fun-filled day of classic water rides with notes of dinga bear and musty bromine water that's what I said oh this one does this one it smells like right when you're getting in that log ride wow but they do so in a way that it smells good oh but I just don't know why all right so far I'm loving that one holy crap I got smelled again that's messed up the haunted fragrance features a ghostly combination of Cedarwood and classic vanilla that is beloved by all happy haunts haunted I've got I've got high hopes for this one because that's a funky smell in there oh oh [Music] it smells like old wood it does smell like old wood but like a fragrant sweet old wood I'm wondering now if when I go back to Disney World and ride these rides whether I'll get the smell or not straight up it's weird because when I smell this I know this is nerdy but I love this stuff but when I visualize in my mind but thinking of that moment and then smelling at the same time that's cool that's this is this is really neat this is really cool and last but not least the smell that I probably don't know as much Nostalgia wise I don't think is extraterrestrial Forest over Universal extraterrestrial Forest features top notes of metallic and Moss followed by middle notes of fur needles and musk all resting upon base notes of Balsam and Sandalwood metallic and Moss oh damn I think this might be the one I burned the first in my room here these are weird smells but addictively awesome this one's where it's at this one's damn cool I smell this and I think of the part of the ride when you go into et's the home planet John Youssi all these weird little aliens dancing and singing this experience was super fun overall magiccandlecompany.com I'm glad I made these purchases I cannot wait damn I can't wait this one there's like popcorn and cinnamon rolls mmm we deserve our own smells in our own happy places whether it be your game room or whatever it may be I can't wait to burn these things remember though using that link down below click on that see what options they have or what your favorite ride may be they even have hotels like the Contemporary Hotel or the Polynesian hotel that they they emit smells in those hotels that will take you back but use that link order yours comment down below once you receive yours once you start burning yours let me know what you think and if you go with any of the ones that I went with what are your thoughts uh surprisingly I'm digging extraterrestrial and splash like no other your room deserves its own damn smell but now my game room is gonna smell like musty water from Pirates of the Caribbean I bet your game room looks good I bet your game room sounds good don't just make it smell good make it smell nostalgic [Music] no no it smells fine I promise [Music] it smell haunted I'm gonna get so much from my buddies for doing this video but I ain't even mad I'm excited I'm not even mad I'm excited Nostalgia oh wow all right [Music]

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: e4168405-3533-422b-9d67-8cdb9cc29119*